Benjamin Outram is employing expertise from his background in physics and Oxford PhD in liquid crystal science to explore new possibilities in the space between the human mind and our mediated worlds, with a focus on inducing transformative states of consciousness. His virtual reality work has been showcased at Sundance Film Festival, Siggraph, Dubai International Film Festival, E3, and Tokyo Game Show.

Virtual reality standouts at Sundance include the Synesthesia Suit, a full-body exoskeleton-style suit with 26 sensors to provide as much sensation as possible while playing the video game “Rez Infinite” or experiencing the psychedelic sounds of “Crystal Vibes.”

“'Haptic technology came from motion-tracking development for Nintendo gaming systems,' Outram says. “My goal with Crystal Vibes and other haptic projects is about changing our perspectives in life…Can new media technologies help us transcend to something better than ourselves?'"

"For a less frenetic but wildly psychedelic introduction to virtual synesthesia, Dr. Benjamin Outran [sic] designed Crystal Vibes. Colored orbs of every color sprawl out in all directions, like the The Matrix’s 'guns, lots of guns' construct scene mixed with the Yellow Submarine and a sizable dose of acid. You can squeeze and bat around jello bubbles that satisfyingly ripple through your suit."

"When radio came along, and television, and the internet, no one really knew or could predict how they were going to affect every aspect of society," Ben Outram, creator of Sound World, an interactive psychedelic world of geodesic shapes and music (see image, top of post), told Mashable. "I think VR is one of those — we’re in this stage now where no one really knows what it’s doing. But it represents a whole new level of an ability to communicate, an ability to empathize, there’s more information being sent, there’s more levels and channels of sensory perception and we can expect a whole multitude of ways that I think is going to change society just as much as the internet has."

There's a huge saturation of mobiles, there are billions (of dollars) being made in mobile gaming ... and Nintendo has realized that," said Benjamin Outram, a researcher at Keio University, who was demonstrating virtual reality goggles and a vibrating digital immersion suit at the Tokyo event. "Nintendo is an entertainment company so will go in whatever direction they can entertain.